~ Gita Journey is a straightforward, modern, contemporary, basic explanation and commentary of the Bhagawat Gita, with Sanskrit to English word meanings. Each shloka (verse) is explained in detail. An introduction to the Bhagavad Gita along with study resources can also be found here. A summary of each chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is also included. It does not matter whether you are a student, a retiree, a professional, a mom, a dad or a housewife – no prior knowledge is needed.

Shri Krishna continues summarizing the twelfth chapter in this shloka by listing further attributes of the perfected devotee. He first says that both praise and insult have no effect on the devotee. Praise and insult are usually targeted towards a person’s name. But the devotee, having given up all identification with his name, does not care whether he is praised or insulted, just like the sky does not get affected whether someone throws roses at it or dirt. The devotee is also a mauni, one who remains silent. Here, the silence does not refer to verbal silence but to silence of desires and thoughts that are devoid of Ishvara as their basis.

The ocean is not affected whether it gets a torrential downpour or no rain at all. It happily accepts whatever comes its way because it is content with itself. Similarly, the devotee is content in his constant devotion to Ishvara, and therefore accepts whatever comes his way without any complaint. The devotee also does not have an attitude of possession towards anything, including his home. Like the wind that comes and goes anywhere as it pleases, the devotee considers the entire world his home and is attached his house, his physical body, his mind, his intellect or his desires.

As we proceed along the path of devotion, we will notice that our mind shifts between giving reality to the world as part of Ishvara, and giving reality to the world as separate from Ishvara. As long as we give reality to the world as an independent entity, we can never get rid of our unfulfilled desires, and the attachment to the world that results from those desires. A perfected devotee is one whose mind is fixed on giving reality to the world as a part of Ishvara, giving up all selfish desires in the process. Shri Krishna says that a person who harbours all these attributes is fit to be called a naraha, a human being, in the true sense of the world. Such a devoted person is very dear to him.